EU|BICs shaping regional innovation performance: Insights from the 2025 European Innovation  Scoreboard 

30 July 2025 

The European Commission launched the 2025 European Innovation Scoreboard and the attached Regional Innovation Scoreboard, evaluating the innovation performance of EU Member States, neighbouring countries, and global competitors. The 2025 EIS uses 32 indicators that reflect various innovation aspects, including framework conditions, investments, activities, and their economic, environmental, and societal impacts. The European Union’s innovation performance has shown consistent long-term improvement, rising by 12.6 percentage points since 2018.  

The latest edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) highlights notable changes in national innovation capacities. Thirteen Member States have improved their scores compared to the previous year, with Malta (+7.6 points) and Luxembourg (+5 points) recording the most significant increases. Since 2018, all EU countries have strengthened their innovation performance, although progress ranges from 0.9 points in Luxembourg to an impressive 30-point rise in Estonia. 

Sweden has regained its position as the EU’s leading innovator, with a 12.9 percentage point increase since 2018. This strong performance is largely attributed to progress in lifelong learning, increased business expenditure on Research and Development (R&D), and a greater uptake of Cloud Computing technologies. 

Ireland now leads the Strong Innovators group. Its innovation performance has grown by 13.3 percentage points since 2018, driven by notable strengths in Cloud Computing adoption, improvements in production-based CO₂ productivity, and enhanced collaboration among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We are proud to see the collaborative effort of Irish EU|BICs driving Ireland to be among Europe’s best-in-class innovation performers. 

Croatia has advanced to the Moderate Innovators group after a substantial 19.4-point improvement since 2018, marking a significant step forward in its innovation capacity within the EU context. 

Despite long-term progress, the newly released 2025 editions of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) and the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) report a slight decline of 0.4 percentage points in overall EU innovation performance between 2024 and 2025. 

This recent slowdown underscores the urgency for accelerated action amidst growing global uncertainty and intensifying international competition, as highlighted in key EU strategic frameworks such as the Competitiveness Compass, the Choose Europe initiative, and the Startup and Scale–up Strategy. 

Regional Convergence with Persistent Disparities 

The RIS presents a complex and persistent uneven regional landscape. Long-term trends indicate a narrowing of the innovation gap between the highest- and lowest-performing regions, which EBN welcomes as it aligns with our core mission. Yet, although shifting geographically, significant disparities remain—, particularly between Northern and Southern Europe. 

Between 2018 and 2025, 233 out of 241 regions recorded improved innovation performance, with an average increase of nearly 12 percentage points. However, 82 regions experienced a decline between 2023 and 2025. The top-performing regions continue to be concentrated in Northern and Western Europe. Nevertheless, regions in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe are making substantial progress. Notably, several regions have outperformed the EU average, including Praha, Catalunya, País Vasco, Comunidad de Madrid, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, and Comunitat Valenciana.  

We congratulate all the EU|BICs operating in these regions for their remarkable contributions towards increasing their region’s innovation capacities. 

About the European Innovation Scoreboard 

The European Innovation Scoreboard (published annually) and the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (published biennially) assess the innovation performance of EU Member States, neighbouring countries, and key global competitors. The 2025 EIS is based on 32 indicators that capture a broad range of innovation dimensions, including framework conditions, investments, innovation activities, and their economic, environmental, and societal impacts. 

EU Member States are grouped into four performance categories: 

• Innovation Leaders (>125% of the EU average) 

• Strong Innovators (100–125%) 

• Moderate Innovators (70–100%) 

• Emerging Innovators (<70%) 

These scoreboards serve as essential tools within the framework of the New European Innovation Agenda, which seeks to bridge the EU’s innovation divide and accelerate the rollout of breakthrough technologies. They also inform major policy instruments such as the Competitiveness Compass, the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, and the Choose Europe for Science campaign. 

Looking ahead, the forthcoming EU Innovation Act is expected to make further use of the scoreboards as strategic benchmarking tools, supporting the identification of performance gaps, the design of policy reforms, and the modernisation of research and innovation ecosystems across the European Union. 

“The 2025 findings confirm that Europe’s innovation engine remains resilient. While numerous European countries are at the forefront with groundbreaking advancements, the EU must accelerate its digital and green transitions in order to close the gap with global competitors. By investing in regional clusters, supporting SMEs, and improving access to critical resources, we can transform today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities, fostering a more competitive and innovative Europe.”  
— Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms 

“The EIS 2025 underscores the urgent need to modernise Europe’s Single Market and supply chains in order to maintain global competitiveness. The decline in SME collaboration and R&D investment in certain Member States is a clear warning sign. We must streamline regulations, enhance cross-border digital infrastructure, and cultivate partnerships between start-ups and established enterprises to unlock Europe’s full potential. Innovation is not solely about technology, it is about building ecosystems where ideas can flourish and grow.”  
— Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy 

“Research and innovation are at the heart of our competitiveness strategy. The 2025 Scoreboard confirms our long-term progress, but also highlights the pressing need to go further and to close persistent gaps between different parts of Europe. We are already taking meaningful steps — through our strategies for start-ups and scale-ups, life sciences, and artificial intelligence in science. This week, we will present proposals for the EU’s next long-term budget and the forthcoming research and innovation programme. These will be essential to driving a more sustainable and competitive Europe in the years to come.”  
— Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation